All Annual Report

RCE Bulletin 38: August 2014

Submitted by admin on Fri, 2014-08-15 17:49

Issue 38: August 2014

Message from the Global RCE Service Centre:

Dear colleagues and friends,

In an effort to enhance your contributions to the monthly RCE E-Bulletin, we are introducing a form through which you can submit upcoming events, latest news, calls for applications and new publications. From September 2014 onwards, please submit your RCE news through this form to the Global RCE Service Centre (rceservicecentre@unu.edu). Subsequent submissions must be made by the 15th of every month. In addition, we encourage you to continue using the RCE Portal to exchange ideas, share expertise and resources and deliberate emerging sustainability issues towards ESD implementation at a global level.

To enable more RCEs to submit their annual reports and also nominate projects for the 2014 RCE Award, we are extending the deadline for the two processes to Monday, 15 September. We look forward to receiving your 2014 annual reports and also nominations of your flagship projects for the RCE Award. Selected flagship projects are to be presented during the 9th Global RCE Conference.

We have also extended the deadline for online registration to attend the 9th Global RCE Conference in Okayama. For those who are planning to attend and have not registered you now have up to Thursday, 19 September 2014 to do so by visiting the conference website.

Finally, we are happy to introduce Ms. Hanna Staahlberg who has joined UNU-IAS as the new Communications Coordinator for the ESD Programme. Hanna is looking forward to working with the RCE community. Please join us in welcoming her to the Global RCE Service Centre and ESD Team.

Best wishes,

The Global RCE Service Centre

Upcoming Events

9–12 September 2014

The 4th African RCE Continental Meeting will be held in conjunction with the 32nd Environmental Education Association of Southern Africa (EEASA) annual conference at the University of Namibia (Windhoek Campus) on 9–12 September 2014. The theme of the EEASA conference is: Reflections on the current and emerging ESD issues and practices informing the post DESD framework programme. RCE Khomas-Erongo of Namibia will host the African RCE meeting. Activities of the meeting will be integrated into the EEASA programme to address the afore-mentioned theme through plenary sessions, paper presentations, round table discussions and workshops. The overall purpose of the 4th African RCE meeting is to deliberate a joint strategy and concrete actions for positioning African RCEs to effectively deliver a post 2014 ESD agenda. For more details, visit the RCE Portal.

9th Global RCE Conference

4–7 November 2014

The 9th Global RCE Conference will be held in Okayama, Japan from 4 to 7 November. Marking the final year of the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (DESD: 2005–2014), the Conference is regarded as one of the official stakeholder meetings to be held prior to the UNESCO World Conference on ESD (10–12 November). The Conference provides a great opportunity to reflect on the successes and challenges of the RCE movement with a view to charting a post-2014 agenda as proposed in UNESCO’s Global Action Programme (GAP) on ESD. The major objective of the Conference is to identify a tangible commitment of the RCE community towards the effective implementation of ESD beyond 2014. The registration is now open (deadline: 19 September) on the conference website.

9 November 2014

The United Nations University is organizing the International Conference on Higher Education for Sustainable Development: Higher Education Beyond 2014 in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan on 9 November, in collaboration with UNESCO, the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA), UNEP, UN Global Compact’s Principles for Responsible Management Education (PRME) initiative, and the International Association of Universities (IAU). The Conference will highlight the major challenges and pathways for transformation of higher education institutions (HEIs), with a focus on scaling up and mainstreaming innovative practices in learning and knowledge development and research.

Events organized by RCE members

2nd World Symposium on Sustainable Development at Universities (WSSD-U-2014)

3–5 September 2014

RCE Hamburg and Region in collaboration with Manchester Metropolitan University (UK) and the Research and Transfer Centre “Applications of Life Sciences” of the Hamburg University of Applied Sciences (Germany) has organized the 2nd World Symposium on Sustainable Development at Universities (WSSD-U-2014). The Workshop that will be held on 3–5 September 2014 in Manchester, UK, is one of the last events to be held as part of the UN Decade on Education for Sustainable Development (UNDESD) which concludes in 2014.

The 2nd World Symposium on Sustainable Development at Universities (WSSD-U-2014) has a focus on transformative approaches to sustainable development across disciplines and will contribute to the further development of this fast-growing field. For more information click here.

COPERNICUS Alliance Conference on Education for Sustainability: Building Capacity in Higher Education

3 October 2014

We are pleased to share programme information and to invite participation in an international conference organized by COPERNICUS Alliance (CA) in collaboration with Charles University in Prague, Czech Republic. The Conference will review major trends and changes in higher education towards sustainability over the last ten years, with an emphasis on whole-of-institution approaches, curriculum change, university educators, ESD competences and quality enhancement. A state of the art report which maps existing ESD professional development opportunities for university educators in Europe will be presented at the event.

For further information, abstract submissions and registration details please click here or visit the conference website.

International Seminar on Renewable Electricity and Socio-Economic Development: Challenges and Opportunities for Developed and Developing Countries

9 September 2014

RCE Hamburg in collaboration with its partners has organized a seminar on Renewable and Socio-Economic Development: Challenges and Opportunities for Developed and Developing Countries. This seminar will offer a forum for German key actors in the renewable energy technology transfer and development cooperation sectors, to exchange experience between each other and to enter into a dialogue with representatives from Latin American universities. This seminar seeks to promote the exchange of experiences between universities, NGOs and enterprises working in international renewable energy technology transfer. Moreover, it aims to initiate partnerships and contribute to closer networking between institutions in the field of renewable energy and development cooperation. For more information visit the website.

28 October 2014

The City of Okayama and a local NPO called the Satoumi Research Institute will organize a symposium on “The Sustainable Society which Citizens Create: Thinking about the Creation of Satoumi” on 28 October in Okayama, Japan. “Satoumi” (“sato” means the areas where people live and “umi” means sea in Japanese) refers to marine landscapes that have been formed and maintained by prolonged interaction between humans and ecosystems. The symposium will give a great opportunity for participants to discuss the interrelation among people in forest, villages, and coastal areas and how we can live in harmony. For more information, click here.

Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) Conference

26–29 October 2014

Nearly 2,000 sustainability professionals and students will gather in Portland, Oregon for AASHE’s annual conference to network and share new innovations, activities, frameworks, learning outcomes, tools, strategies, research, theory and leadership initiatives that are changing the face of sustainability on their campus and surrounding communities. RCE Greater Portland which is on the coordinating committee of the conference will host an RCE Panel discussion on the benefits of the RCE model and cross-sector ESD networks. The panel discussion will be attended by representatives from RCE Grand Rapids, RCE Saskatchewan and U.S. Partnership for ESD.

Call for Papers and Applications

UN Winter School on Sustainable Consumption and Production in Asia and the Pacific

7–20 December 2014 in Bangkok, Thailand

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and its partners, United Nations University Institute for the Advanced Study of Sustainability (UNU-IAS), and the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT) are announcing applications for the forthcoming UN Winter School on Sustainable Consumption and Production (SCP) in Asia and the Pacific. The strategic objective of the Winter School is to improve the knowledge of future decision makers in Asia and the Pacific in the area of SCP and thus contribute to the design and implementation of policies, business models and practices that can promote sustainable resource management.

The UN Winter School that will be held at the Asian Institute of Technology Campus provides an exclusive learning opportunity for young professionals, including post-graduate students, to be equipped with skills that can support their professional and research activities. Scholarships are available for participants from developing countries in Asia and the Pacific. Find details on the application process here.

Survey on the State of Higher Education for Sustainable Development

RCE Graz-Styria in collaboration with Karl-Franzens-University of Graz, RCE Vienna, Vienna University of Economics and Business, UNESCO Chair in Higher Education for Sustainable Development, Leuphana University Lüneburg, United Nations University Institute for the Advanced Study of Sustainability (UNU-IAS) and the International Association of Universities (IAU) invites you to participate in a new study on the state of higher education for sustainable development through an online survey. The outcome of the study will be presented at the UNESCO World Conference on ESD in Aichi Nagoya in November. To access the survey, please click on the relevant link below:

Call for Case Studies for the UNESCO/UNFCCC/Centre for Environment Education India Joint Research Project

Goal 13 of the proposed Sustainable Development Goals highlights the need to improve education, awareness raising and human and institutional capacity on climate change mitigation, adaptation, impact reduction and early warning. UNFCCC, UNESCO and Centre for Environment Education (CEE) have undertaken a survey to identify and then develop as case studies, examples from across the world where ESD has led to climate change mitigation. The survey can be accessed here until 29 August 2014.

If you are involved in any educational or awareness raising programme, project or activity which has led to or is expected to lead to greenhouse gas emission reduction please contribute to the UNESCO/UNFCCC/Centre for Environment Education India joint research project by sending case studies to sbcc@ceeindia.org or rixa.schwarz@ceegermany.org before the 15th of September 2014. Selected case studies will be presented at the UNFCCC COP20, Lima, Peru, 1–12 December 2014.

The South Asia Youth Environment Network (SAYEN) in association with UNertia and UNEP invites participation of students in the Handprint Sustainability Challenge for Colleges in Asia-Pacific. The challenge aims at promoting sustainability behaviour among college students by encouraging them to identify and act on sustainability issues. For details on the application process, eligibility criteria and guidelines click here.

Latest News

Strategic Directions for the RCEs of the Americas: Creating “An RCE of RCEs”

The RCEs of the Americas network of Regional Centres of Expertise on Education for Sustainable Development (RCEs) held their 3rd RCE Conference in Autlan de Nevarro, Jalisco, Mexico on 29–30 July 2014. Following the conference RCEs of the Americas have stated their commitment to implementing strategic actions that build a continental learning space beyond the Decade on ESD and into the new era of the Global Action Programme on ESD.

For details on the commitment statement and strategic directions that emerged from the 3rd RCE Conference of the Americas click here.

RCE Chandigarh celebrates International Day for Conservation of Biological Diversity

RCE Chandigarh mobilized more than 5,500 schools and other institutions to participate in the Green Wave programme on the occasion of celebration of International Day for Conservation of Biological Diversity. Green Wave is a global biodiversity campaign to educate children and youth about biodiversity through a tree planting event. An awareness lecture that highlighted the importance of biodiversity, significance of plants in terms of medicinal values, the Green Wave initiative and need of plantation to green the mother earth was organized on this occasion. For more information click here.

Publications

8th Global RCE Conference: Regional Centres of Expertise on Education for Sustainable Development

The United Nations University Institute for the Advanced Study of Sustainability (UNU-IAS) has published a conference booklet of the 8th Global RCE Conference that was held in Nairobi, Kenya on 26–29 November 2013. The booklet is an abridged version of the 8th Global RCE Conference minutes that were shared in February this year. The conference booklet can be accessed here.

Forests in a Changing Climate: A Sourcebook for Integrating REDD+ into Academic Programmes (UNEP, 2014)

This sourcebook that was recently launched by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) seeks to take stock of the knowledge, approaches, tools and initiatives that have been developed for REDD+ by a range of actors and to facilitate their integration into multi-disciplinary higher education programmes, especially in countries actively engaged in REDD+ readiness efforts and preparations. The sourcebook is available here.